


Your Brother's Keeper

by wreckedcastiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 10x23, Angst, Hurt, Original Character Death(s), Season/Series 10, The title doesn't really fit the story but I didn't want to change it !, it's basically painful eheh, predictions for the finale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 21:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3544349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wreckedcastiel/pseuds/wreckedcastiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is way too calm.<br/>Sam and Castiel worry he might snap.<br/>Eventually it all goes downhill, but not as you would expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Brother's Keeper

“Cas, Dean is in trouble.” Sam’s voice was shaking. "You remember what the bible says about killing Cain?" He asks, finally facing the angel.

Castiel squints when he saw the pain in Sam’s eyes.

"Of course I remember. Anyone who kills Cain will be -" he stops, realisation suddenly hitting him.

"-will be avenged sevenfold. Exactly." Sam lowers his gaze. He tries hard to hide how much he actually worries.

"I never understood what that meant” the angel states.  
Even though Castiel was a celestial being he does not understand every story the bible tells.  
Most of the transmissions are written in tongue.

"That Dean is basically already dead?" Sam almost chokes on the last word.

  
He couldn’t bare to see his brother die again.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Sam."

  
"How could I not worry about this? Dean killed the first murderer in human history, and he's going to face vengeance seven times over. Of course I worry!" Sam’s voice grew exasperated.

Does Cas understand the full meaning of this all?

"If God decides to kill Dean, which I doubt, it would be a simple vengeance." Cas sits down opposite the younger Winchester staring into the distance.

"Dean will not die because that would be equal punishment to both, Cain and Dean, you understand?" Sam gives a small nod.

"What is seven times worse than death?" Sam questions hesitantly.

  
"If I knew that we would not be sitting here, I’m afraid." Castiel stated quietly.

He also feared for the worst. He cannot afford to lose any of the Winchesters, the ones who taught him everything about free will, about life actually.

  
He startles when Sam slaps him on the shoulder.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the hay now. We will figure something out, right?"

"We will. We always have."

It's a murmur Cas almost can't hear himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[A few months later]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite all the things that have happened, Dean seemed to be oddly calm, even if he wouldn't own the Mark of Cain.

No matter what they had to deal with - more demons, the good old ghosts, things they haven't met yet, or the king of hell - Dean didn't snap once.

"I don't understand his behaviour." Sam is sitting at the huge table in the bunker's library, studying the books for new spells.

Castiel is browsing the books the Men of Letters have stored. Sometimes he’s stunned by the accuracy other times he feels the need to correct or add to statements. Especially ones about his own species.

From a distance, they hear Dean sing loudly to Metallica in the kitchen.

“You hear that?! He hasn’t sung to any song in months. I mean, I’m glad he can enjoy himself again but - it doesn’t fit to what happened?” Sam wanted his brother to be carefree and happy but that just isn't their life.

The hope for peace has long faded. And especially after Dean broke down in the barn after he had killed Cain, Sam was only waiting for the explosion.

Cas puts the books back where they belong.

"As long as he keeps his serenity we are fine. We are dealing with an unfamiliar situation here. Everyone who ever tried to lay a hand on Cain was dead within seconds. And besides, the bible includes some exorbitant parts."

"Oh, wow, Cas? That coming from an angel. You sure your dad up there would like to hear you say crap about his favourite book?"

Dean had entered the room with some burgers.

"What were you talkin' about anyway?" he makes himself comfortable in one of the armchairs positioned at some of the book shelves.

"Oh, uh, nothing important. I just wondered what Cas thought about the bible. You know, since he's practically a part of it. Kind of." Sam asserts unconvincingly.

Dean raises his eyebrow, "You know, I'm not dumb, guys. You've been acting strange for weeks.  
I'm fine, breathing , eating and sleeping like a baby. But for the love of god, stop acting like a mom, will ya? Jeez."

Sam bites his lip and mouths a quiet "sure" before they start eating their dinner in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For some time the country was incredibly peaceful and Castiel decides to go back to heaven for some "business." He doesn't tell the brothers what he meant by that.

Until one morning Sam informed his brother of a possible case.

"Lawrence? Well, guess we can pay our hometown a visit. Been a long time." Dean was already packing his bag. "Did Garth specify what's goin' on there?"

"Not much. Several deaths and disappearances. Apparently no one has seen or heard anything." Sam answered.

As soon as the Winchesters arrive in Lawrence they start to work. They decide to interrogate the family of the most recent murder victim at last.

"I have to say, I'm glad the FBI finally stepped in. The Sheriff has no idea where to start searching.  
This town has been through a lot in the past, and the recent events is making everyone restless." Mr. Goldner leads Sam and Dean inside after they showed one of their countless fake badges.

He motioned them to sit down on the sofa when Dean starts.

"So, Mr. Goldner, your son Devin went missing last Sunday , right?"

The elderly man took a deep breath, "Yeah. Sheriff Kemple told us Dev was all wet and filthy and - "

"He was so clean when they took us to him, agents. He looked like he was sleeping. My little boy is just sleeping, he can't be gone, he -" Mrs Goldner stands in the doorway to the living room.  
Her hair is messy and the bags under her eyes show that she most likely hasn't slept for days.

"Emma, please," Mr. Goldner heads over to his wife, "go upstairs, I won't take long okay?"

"But he's coming back Jeffrey! Why are those agents here if he's coming back?"

Her voice breaks and a silent sob escapes her mouth but her husband pushes her towards the stairs.

With trembling legs the woman eventually heads back to their bedroom while Mr. Goldner returns to the Winchesters.

"I am sorry for that. Dev is," he stops, "was our only son. He was our biggest gift, you know, a blessing to this world."

"Our deepest condolences, Mr. Goldner." Sam's voice is filled with pity. "I apologize but we still have to ask you some questions, is that alright?"

"Yeah - yes of course, what do you need to know?" he recollects himself.

"What did your son do that day? Last Sunday?"

"He, um, he went out with his friends. I don't know I think they wanted to go to a cemetery outside of town. "Just chilling," he said. His friends left there without him, saying he wanted to take some more pictures when they had to head back."   
The man rubs his eyes.

"Do you happen to know which cemetery they went to?" Dean questions.

"The Stull cemetery." It was the 5th time the Winchesters heard that a victim spent their time at that place."They usually hung out there, it's a quiet place."

After that information the brothers end the interrogation rather quickly, giving Mr. Goldner their number to call if he remembers anything of importance. They don't hesitate any second but get in the car to make their way to Stull.

"You think this is a coincidence? I mean, this is the place we managed to throw Lucifer and Michael in the cage. And now we have a number disappearances and dead bodies. 90% of them were killed exactly after they had been there." Sam is worked up.

"Probably just some demon skunk trying to make fun of us. Lucifer and Michael are locked up safely.  
We would know if the cage had opened." Dean's hands clench on the wheel.

There was definitely something odd but the sooner they figure this out the sooner his brother would calm down again.

When they drive through the gate Dean has flashbacks from 5 years ago when Lucifer took over Sam as his ultimate vessel.

He remembers every hit he took and how in the right moment Sam regained control.  
His brain replays Sam, with Lucifer still in his body, jumping into that deep black hole.  
Straight into hell's best guarded place, taking Michael with him.

They exit the car, wondering where they should start searching for clues.

"It's weird being here again, isn't it?" Sam was feeling just as anxious as Dean.  
It took him years to lock away the memories of Lucifer's cage but right now he feels like his brain is on fire again.

"Do you need help?" Castiel suddenly appeared directly next to the older Winchester.

"Oh for fu-- Jesus, Cas, I thought you'd only use your car by now. What are you doing here?"

"Sam called me and you were too far away for me to make it in time to help. "

"You could've told me, man." Dean rolls his eyes at Sam who just shrugs.  
"Well, the more eyes the better we see when it gets dark, right?"

Two hours have passed, no sign of anything unusual except for empty beer bottles, magazines, cigarette stubs. Just stuff the youth leaves behind everywhere they go.

"Why is there a photo of us right here?" Cas picked up a paper.  
"What?!" Dean startles and Sam steps next to the angel to have a look at it.  
"This was at Bobby's. Weird but it's a nice shot." Sam smiles and hands it over to his brother.

"Must have lost it back then. I couldn't find it anymore. But it's in excellent condition and the wind didn't blow it away? It's impossible. You guys are sure neither of you just lost it?" Both of them shake their head.

The Winchester looks at the picture again. _It was rough but so much easier than now,_ he thinks before he feels a cold breeze rushing through his body.

"The river shall end at its source. And every obstacle possibly preventing its journey has to be destroyed."  
It's a faint whisper in his ear.

His eyes go wide when he lifts his head.

He tries to shout at Sam and Cas who are standing a bit further away now, still searching, but no sound crosses his lips.

Behind his brother and his best friend, the most evil smile shines straight into his face. He was looking at himself.  
But how could that be? He’s standing several metres away from them, how can he look at himself?

"WATCH OUT !" He finally manages to cry out and just as Cas and Sam look in the direction his scream came from, an angel blade went through each body.

“NO!” He watches in horror as the two slumped to the ground in almost terrifyingly beautiful unison.

Dean tries to move, to run towards them but no matter how hard he tries, he stays exactly where he is.

The man who looks exactly like him is still smiling deviously, holding two bloody blades in his hands, but he doesn’t move.

“Isn’t it sweet to watch yourself kill your angel and your brother instead of just feeling it? Separating mind and body. I think I deserve an award.”, someone appears next to Dean and laughs.

The Winchester is shaking, tears starting to form in his eyes but the disbelief of Dean prevents them from falling.  
He slowly turned his head towards the figure.

“Sevenfold vengeance. Ts. I still don’t understand what Father meant by that.  
But I think a two-fold one does that job. For now at least.”

Dean’s disbelief is strengthened when he saw that one person he never wanted to see again directly in front of him, looking awfully burned but with a smug smile on his lips.

“Lucifer ..”, Dean’s voice is barely a whisper.

“Aw, I’m flattered you still recognize me. It’s been too long. Did you miss me?”

Lucifer starts to laugh again and it sounded too loud in Dean’s head that it hurt all over his body.

He tries to shield himself from the noise but Lucifer's laugh echoes all the way through his soul and it wouldn't stop.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I might write a chapter 2 at some point if you like :) x Leave comments and tell me your blunt opinion ! be strict with me <3


End file.
